About Jessica Lee

Jessica Lee is an American jazz & blues vocalist, songwriter (ASCAP) and recording artist, born in Manassas, VA. Lee’s vocals reflect the influence of classic jazz, blues, rhythm & blues and gospel, but always with a heavy emphasis on the blues. Her musical motto is to study and perform “something old, something new, something borrowed . . . but always blue.”

Lee performs at jazz and blues clubs, music festivals, charitable and private events, universities and concert halls throughout the U.S. She has performed at legendary clubs such as Antone’s in Austin, Texas and is featured frequently at major charitable events. For example, Jessica was the featured jazz & blues singer to perform a live, nationally-broadcasted concert benefiting the Make-a-Wish-Foundation from the WQED TV Studios in Pittsburgh and has also been a featured singer for the Susan B. Komen Race for the Cure and other major charity events. In 2011-12, record label EQ Music selected three of Jessica’s recorded songs from her “Bluebird Fly” album for inclusion in three compilation albums, including two in their “Greatest Audiophile Voices” album series and one in “The Best Pop Jazz” album for international distribution. Since then, EQ Music has selected four more of Lee’s recorded songs to feature on four new international vocal compilation CDs, including “When Blues Meets Jazz,” and represents her solo albums internationally.

Also a social entrepreneur and educator, Lee has focused much of her entrepreneurial energy on several high-profile initiatives in collaboration with the nonprofit Pittsburgh Gateways Corporation, including co-founding the America’s Arts & Music Crossroads Center which connects professional artists and musicians with underprivileged youth for creativity and career coaching; co-founding a jazz and American music camp series for at-risk youth with the Afro American Music Institute’s James Johnson, Ph.D. and trumpeter/educator Sean Jones; the saving and renovation of the legendary Crawford Grill jazz club in Pittsburgh’s historic Hill District with Hall of Fame running back Franco Harris and a team of social investors; and various other educational, career and entrepreneurial ventures which are designed to “pass on” the American Music and creative art forms to the next generation, with a special emphasis on serving youth in at-risk situations and communities.

Biography

Lee grew up in Franklin, PA, studying classical piano since the age of 5 and singing in church and school choirs and community theatre musicals and cabarets. During college, her interest in jazz blossomed after a chance encounter with Paul Jeffrey, Director of Jazz Studies, Duke University, with whom she studied jazz history and improvisation and who encouraged her to begin her life-long study of jazz piano, vocals and improvisation. Jessica graduated from Duke University (1991) where she continued her study and performance of music, piano, creative writing and voice, and subsequently graduated from Duke University School of Law (1994) where she studied business and entertainment law on a partial scholarship.

Jessica returned to Pittsburgh in 1994 to begin singing professionally, initially under the mentorship and with the jazz band of guitar jazz legend and educator, Tony Janflone, Sr., with whom she later recorded and released the vocal/guitar inspirational jazz album, “From a Silent Heart.” Jessica’s musical development was consistently nurtured by the mentorship of many Pittsburgh jazz greats, with whom she’s had the opportunity to both perform and record. Lee has shared the stage and/or recorded with renowned jazz drummer Roger Humphries; pianists John D’Amico, Max Leake and James Johnson, Ph.D.; guitarists Tony Janflone, Sr., Joe Negri and Mark Strickland; trombonists Harold Betters and Nelson Harrison, Ph.D.; bassists Dwayne Dolphin and David Pellow; trumpeters Sean Jones and Steve Hawke, and saxophonists Chris Hemingway, Jay Willis and Eric Defade.

As an artist-entrepreneur, Lee started up a musical production company, ViveVenture, LLC, in 2001 and an affiliated record label and released her debut “Bluebird Fly” album as a co-producer with Grammy-winner Jay Dudt and Hollis Greathouse of Audible Images Recording Studios in 2005. In reviewing the “Bluebird Fly” CD, Nate Guidry, former jazz critic for the Pittsburgh Post Gazette wrote,” Jazz, blues and rhythm & blues meld seamlessly into her considerable vocal palette.” This album continues to enjoy sales in New Zealand, Japan, Europe and other countries; and in 2010 the song, “Lover Man,” of that album was licensed to the EQ Music record label for inclusion in a compilation album entitled “Greatest Audiophile Voices.” EQ Music continues to represent all of Lee’s recordings in jazz compilations which include artists such as Norah Jones, Amy London and others. Her third album, a duo with jazz guitarist Mark Strickland, entitled “Silver Days, Charcoal Nights” was released in 2012 and her fourth studio album, “Rhythms of Anyway,” was released in 2013. “Rhythms of Anyway” includes several original compositions as well as a fusion of jazz and rhythm and blues classics.

As a producer, Lee creates and performs customized live concerts and music series for clubs, charities and universities. One of her custom shows is currently enjoying a weekly run of over 12 years – the “Jessica Lee Jazz Networking Show”, which began weekly shows in May, 2001 at Dowe’s on 9th Jazz Club and continues today at the Rivers Club in Pittsburgh. This jazz networking show connects and encourages innovation between business innovators and arts innovators and helps to keep regional jazz clubs thriving by introducing new audiences to these venues and the music. Lee has also produced, performed and taught workshops at major universities throughout the U.S., including Duke University Law School, Point Park University and Carnegie Mellon University.

Jessica has become a truly international artist with her music being enjoyed in Europe, Asia, New Zealand and more. She has shared stages with many jazz and blues greats and with some of her heroes, such as the great American songstress Gladys Knight. Jim Merod of the Blueport Jazz Record Label in San Diego, CA, reviewed Jessica’s “Silver Days, Charcoal Nights” CD by stating: “Virginia-born (Carolina-honed) vocalist Jessica Lee possesses the essential quality that makes jazz and blues lyrics utterly compelling: a soulful voice with a soulful personality dedicated to a soulful approach to her craft. The first time I listened to Jessica, in Pittsburgh at one of her many weekly gigs, I discovered how honest her lyrical energy truly is. Each time, from that moment on, Jessica’s radiance seems more and more beguiling. She is that ‘real’ thing . . . a jazz singer whose blues-saturated feeling creates immediate happiness and friends for life.”

Discography

Albums

Bluebird Fly 2005 ViveVenture Productions

From a Silent Heart 2010 ViveVenture Productions

Silver Days, Charcoal Nights 2012 ViveVenture Productions

Rhythms of Anyway 2013 ViveVenture Productions

Compilations

Greatest Audiophile Voices EQ Music Catalogue # EA72323

The Best of Pop Jazz EQ Music Catalogue # EA72400

Greatest Audiophile Voices Volume 4 EQ Music Catalogue # EA72566

Best Covers EQ Music Catalogue # EA72625

Jazz Bar EQ Music Catalogue # EA&2586

When Blues Meets Jazz EQ Music Catalogue # EA72653

Movies Classic Jazz Vol. 2 EQ Music Catalogue # EA72365

From the Media

“It’s refreshing indeed to feast one’s ears on this outstanding new release from Pittsburgh-based songstress Jessica Lee. BLUEBIRD FLY is a wonderful excursion into jazz, soul, and Rhythm & Blues, with a definite emphasis on the Blues…I invite you to discover this compelling vocalist. Jessica Lee’s BLUEBIRD FLY adds a classy, tasteful dimension to the Smooth Jazz format!” SCOTT O’BRIEN— SmoothJazz.com

“If you appreciate the heart of American music, you will treasure Jessica Lee’s CDs.” Jay Dudt, five-time Grammy-winning engineer

BIOGRAPHY

Robert was born and raised in New York City.

“I first took up the bass when I was 14. It was 1965 and the Beatles and the rest of the British Invasion bands were in full swing. I had been playing the trumpet throughout school, but suddenly the trumpet just wasn’t very cool. The guitar was in. So I bought a guitar, taught myself a few chords, and started a band of sorts with a few friends. I became the bass player in the band simply because I already knew the treble cleff and somebody had to learn the bass cleff. My entire musical career evolved from that!”

From that moment on Robert Miller became immersed in music and began the steps that would lead to Project Grand Slam a/k/a PGS, for which he is the leader, bassist and composer.

In November 2015 PGS opened for Scott Weiland (formerly of the Stone Temple Pilots) at the Gramercy Theater in NYC. In May 2016 PGS opened for 4-time Grammy Award nominee Boney James at the Bergen Performing Arts Center in NJ. In July the band was the featured performer at the F.M. Kirby Center For The Performing Arts in PA, and in August the band performed at the Tin Angel in Philadelphia, Garcia’s at The Capitol Theater in Port Chester, NY (after YES), and at Rockwood Music Hall in NYC. In October PGS will again open for Boney James at the Ridgefield Playhouse in CT, and in December the band will be the featured performer at the Highland Lakes Concert Series (NJ).

PGS has also appeared at many of the better clubs in NYC including the Blue Note, Iridium, the Cutting Room, and a continuing monthly residency at The Groove.

In August 2016 the band released its 4th album – “The Queen’s Carnival” – featuring nine original tunes written by Robert that are rich in texture and diverse in feel, while still staying true to the PGS sound. Plus Robert’s totally reimagined cover of The Kinks’ “You Really Got Me” (feat. Lucy Woodward on vocals). As Robert says, “The new album is the work that I’ve been building towards my entire career. It truly captures the two musical genres that have informed my composing and playing – rock and jazz. I consider this a breakthrough album for me and the band.”

“The Queen’s Carnival” has received uniformly rave reviews, including: “Unquestionably one of the year’s best albums!”; “An inspired album…a work of ensemble genius!”; “A uniquely powerful work!”; “A sonic cavalcade of different shades and textures!”; “An album of wide ranging taste and distinction!”; and “Smart, stylish and sophisticated!”. The title tune from the album has similarly garnered rave reviews such as “Party powered happiness!”; “Percolates with restless kinetic energy!”; and “Crackling hot Latin song craft!”. The Official and Live videos of this song have been viewed over 500,000 times to date. And the band’s unique cover of The Kinks’ “You Really Got Me” has been called “Astonishing”; “Stunning”; and “Breathtaking”.

PGSʼs prior album (its third) – Made In New York – was released in September 2015 and featured two celebrated singles, “New York City Groove”, Robert’s love letter to his NYC home, and “Fire”, Robertʼs reimagined version of the Jimi Hendrix classic. Both singles featured The Voice semi-finalist Kat Robichaud on vocals. The band and Kat also filmed videos for “Groove” and “Fire” that have been viewed over 150,000 times to date. The reviews of the album and “Fire” were extraordinary, with words like “fantastic”, “damn fine album” and “hard to resist” for the album, and “superb”, “brilliant”, “excellent”, “stunning” and “unbelievable gem” for “Fire”.

“I played rock music exclusively until I was 19, and one of my earliest bass heroes was Jack Bruce of Cream. In fact, don’t tell anyone but I added a little bass figure to “Fire” as a kind of personal homage to Jack Bruce.” I then took up jazz by studying with Jimmy Garrison, John Coltrane’s bassist.”

Robert was a staple of the Boston music scene in the 1970’s, when jazz fusion came into vogue with Miles Davis, Weather Report, Return To Forever and others. His fusion band (which included Anton Fig of Letterman fame) played along side Gary Burton, Sonny Stitt, and Jacki Byard, among others, and played steadily at all the Boston area clubs.

Fast forward to the 1990’s when Robert formed The Robert Miller Group. Their first album, “Child’s Play” (1994), contained Robert’s first original compositions and featured such luminaries as Al Foster (Miles Davis), Randy Brecker (Brecker Brothers), Tony “Thunder” Smith (Lou Reed), Anton Fig and Jon Lucien. The band went on to play at several festivals including the Telluride Jazz Celebration and the San Bernadino Jazz Festival (along side Bruce Hornsby, War and Bela Fleck).

Robert originally began PGS in 2007. The bandʼs first two CDs, Play (2008) and Spring Dance (2012), had three top radio singles – “The Captain Of Her Heart” (feat. Judie Tzuke on vocals) from Play, and “Catch You Later” and the title song from Spring Dance. In 2009 the band also had a featured role in an episode of the hit NBC-TV series Lipstick Jungle starring Brooke Shields and Kim Raver, with five of the bandʼs tunes featured in the soundtrack and Robert having a speaking part.

Says Robert: “What I’m trying to achieve now with PGS is to combine the power and beat of rock with the complexity and improvisation of jazz in a new and exciting way that takes the music to a whole other level”.

ABOUT PROJECT GRAND SLAM

Project Grand Slam is an acclaimed jazz rock fusion band, led by bassist/composer Robert Miller, combining the power and beat of rock with the complexity and improvisation of jazz, with a jam band sensibility.

The band has been working steadily. In November 2015 PGS opened for Scott Weiland (formerly of Stone Temple Pilots) at the Gramercy Theater in NYC. In May 2016 the band opened for 4-time Grammy Award nominee Boney James at the Bergen Performing Arts Center in NJ. In July 2016 the band was the featured performer at the F. M. Kirby Center For The Performing Arts in PA. In August 2016 PGS performed at the Tin Angel in Philadelphia and at Garcia’s at The Capitol Theater in Port Chester, NY (following YES). In October 2016 the band opened again for Boney James at the Ridgefield Playhouse (CT). In November PGS will perform at The Knitting Factory in Brooklyn, NY, and at the Iridium in NYC’s Times Square in a benefit concert for Citymeals. In December 2016 the band will be the featured performer at the Highland Lakes Concert Series (NJ).

PGS also continues to play at the better clubs in NYC including the Blue Note, Iridium, The Cutting Room, as well as a monthly residency at The Groove in Greenwich Village.

In August 2016 the band released its 4th album – “The Queen’s Carnival” – featuring nine original tunes written by Robert that are rich in texture and diverse in feel, while still staying true to the PGS sound. Plus Robert’s totally reimagined cover of The Kinks’ “You Really Got Me” (feat. Lucy Woodward on vocals). As Robert says, “The new album is the work that I’ve been building towards my entire career. It truly captures the two musical genres that have informed my composing and playing – rock and jazz. I consider this a breakthrough album for me and the band.”

“The Queen’s Carnival” has received uniformly rave reviews, including: “Unquestionably one of the year’s best albums!”; “An inspired album…a work of ensemble genius!”; “A uniquely powerful work!”; “A sonic cavalcade of different shades and textures!”; “An album of wide ranging taste and distinction!”; and “Smart, stylish and sophisticated!”.

The title tune from the album has similarly garnered rave reviews such as: “Party powered happiness!”; “Percolates with restless kinetic energy!”; and “Crackling hot Latin song craft!”. The Official and Live videos of this song have been viewed over 500,000 times to date. And the band’s unique cover of The Kinks’ “You Really Got Me” has been called “Astonishing!”; “Stunning!”; and “Breathtaking!”.

PGS’s prior album – “Made In New York” – was released in September 2015 and featured two celebrated singles, “New York City Groove”, Robert’s love letter to his NYC home, and “Fire”, Robert’s reimagined version of the Jimi Hendrix classic. Both singles featured 2013 “The Voice” semi-finalist Kat Robichaud on vocals. The videos for “Groove” and “Fire” that have been viewed over 150,000 times to date. The reviews of the album and “Fire” were incredible, with words like “fantastic”, “damn fine album” and “hard to resist” for the album, and “superb”, “brilliant”, “excellent”, “stunning” and “unbelievable gem” for “Fire”.

Robert originally formed the band in 2007. PGS’s first two CDs, “Play” (2008) and “Spring Dance” (2012), had three top radio singles – “The Captain Of Her Heart” (feat. Judie Tzuke on vocals) from Play, and “Catch You Later” and the title song from Spring Dance. In 2009 the band and Robert also had a featured role in an episode of the hit NBC-TV series “Lipstick Jungle” starring Brooke Shields and Kim Raver, with five of the band’s tunes featured in the soundtrack.